The Wanderer
by Red Page
Summary: After losing his memory, Takuya Kanbara became an agent of the light and took up the job of hunting the unholy creatures of the dark. His next assignment: free a small town from the plague of vampires who've been terrorizing the town for genenerations.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there everybody. Welcome to another chapter of Digimon Frontier 02: Legends… psych! This is the first chapter to an all new fic called 'The Wanderer'.**

"**What? How could you start a new fic? What about Legends?"**

**Chill out dude. I decided I needed a break from Legends and The Wanderer is a perfect way to take that break.**

"**But…"**

**I'll still continue Legends but after I finish this fic. And don't worry, it's a short fic. So no problem.**

"**I guess."**

**Good. Now, shall we get on with the chapter?**

"**Sure."**

**Alrighty then. Let's get this bad boy started. Camera's ready, set, ACTION!!!**

**********

I hear it panting. It will not get away from me. No matter how far it runs, I will not lose it. No matter where it hides, I will find it. No matter how hard it tries to escape tonight from me, I will hunt it down.

Its breathing is escalating. Exhaustion is getting the better of it. I can hear its knuckles hitting the asphalt floors. It's running on all fours now. That will not help it.

It's turning a corner now. It's headed towards the streets. It's hoping to lose me in the crowded streets. I won't allow that to happen.

I can see its grotesque shadow in front of me. Its large torso was massive. Maybe three times larger than that of a normal human being. I can see the swollen mass over its left shoulder. A great big hunch. That just makes it an easier target.

I quickened my pace. Having this creature out in the open was not a good idea. It would surely cause havoc to the unsuspecting public. I cannot allow that to happen.

I'm getting closer to the creature. I can smell the horrid scent of blood and raw meat. It made me want to gag. Some unfortunate soul must have come in contact with this beast not too long ago.

I can hear the busy traffic nearby. It's getting too close to the populated area.

There. I see it. The shadows hid most of its figure but I could see its bare human like feet running down the alleyway. Now was my chance.

I dug my hand into my coat. In a mere moment I held a magnum in my gloved hand. I examined my gun for a mere moment admiring its features.

The magnum was made out of a silver alloy. Holy marking decorated the cartridge, barrel, and handle.

I lifted my gun and aimed carefully. The creature was just a turn and a few meters away from getting out into the streets. Time froze. I had to shoot now.

I half a second a loud popping sound was heard and the creature slammed against the wall in front of it.

I took a few steps towards the wounded creature. Blood was flowing out of the wound in its right shoulder.

I sheathed my gun and looked at the creature's face. It was a sickly pale blue face with long matted black hair. Long, drool covered teeth produced from its blood caked mouth. It disgusted me. I stared into its yellow eyes. They were wild and cruel. It was not human. It was a monster.

I fought back the urge to kill the beast but I had my orders. Bring the creature back alive. I clenched my fist and let out an aggravated groan.

I dug into my pocket and felt around for what I needed. As I did so the creature looked up at me, its eyes were begging for freedom, for mercy.

I pulled out a long silver chain. Why should I show mercy to a creature that has killed so many?

I stepped slowly towards the creature ready to bind it in an instant. I could see intense fear in the creature's eyes. It was pathetic. I looked to the open streets and saw the cars and people passing by without noticing us. It was so close to making it out there in the streets. It was so close to harming so many civilians.

I turned back to the creature. A wicked grin was plastered on its face. "Shit."

The creature swung its large arms at me. I was hit hard and was knocked backwards a few feet away from the beast. Pain jolted to the back of my head.

I quickly got back to my feet and was instantly bombarded by large fists. I was fortunate to be able to read the creature's moves. There was no chance for me to use my magnums and the shotgun at my left hip was also useless to me.

The beast swung its claw at me slicing through the cloth. Then, I felt its fist slam into my stomach sending me back into a corner. I sat up and looked down to where I was cut. It wasn't as bad as I originally thought. The claws did slice through my trench coat and shirt and left thin cuts on my bare skin. And it barely grazed the belts across my chest.

I lifted my head, eyes wide. The creature's claws were coming towards me at an amazing speed. I ducked at the last second avoiding the attack. I felt the claw shred through my hood.

I rolled away from the creature and stood up. I could feel the light shine on my face and the wind through my messy chestnut brown hair.

The creature turned to me and smiled, shredding what remained of hood in its claws.

I smiled and pulled out my magnums. I aimed at its head then remembered my orders. I must take it in alive.

The creature took advantage of my distracted thoughts and lunged at me again. I reacted quickly and jumped to the left. I aimed at its legs and fired. Four shots and only two of them had hit their mark.

"Damn it." I cursed. I needed to concentrate. I aimed carefully and within a few seconds I fired at the creature once more. I could hear the empty shells clatter on the floor.

The creature recoiled with each shot. One after another, it took on my barrage of bullets.

I fired once more but instead of a popping sound I heard a click. I pulled the trigger to each gun a few times and heard the same click over again. "Shit."

I sheathed my guns and reached for my shotgun but the creature took advantage of my disability and struck at me. This time it grazed my shoulder. I grunted the pain away and pulled away from the beast.

'That's it. No more Mr. Nice Guy.' I glared at the beast while unsheathing the sword I had strapped to my back. "Genai's gonna really be pissed at me for doing this but I have no choice."

My sword had a simple design: the cross guard was thin but sturdy; the double edge blade was sharp and had angelic marking etched into it; and the ten inch long handle was tightly bound in brown leather straps.

It was my turn to make it feel fear and this time, real fear. I swung my blade and sliced into its palm. I saw its blue blood trickle down my blade. No doubt it noticed too.

The beast quivered and pulled its hand away from me.

I grinned. I stepped forward and struck at its chest. The creature tried to block it with its forearm. Big mistake.

The beast howled as its severed arm fell on the floor with a thud. Blue blood sprayed onto my coat but I did not falter. Instead I struck at the creature once more. A large gash appeared on its left shoulder.

The beast jumped backwards and roared at me once more. It didn't scare me. I was made for this kind of stuff. I still have the scars to prove it. Ever since I could remember I was always fighting monsters like these. Ever since the lab…

A sudden jolt of pain entered my skull. Damn, now of all times for this to happen to me. Every time I went back to those thoughts I always have this killer headache. It was like someone was sticking a white hot needle in my brain.

I held my head. The pain was so intense; I thought I would pass out any second. I forced myself to open my eyes and saw the creature's clawed fist coming straight at me again. I leapt to the left. I wasn't fast enough.

I felt a great pain on my ribs. The punch was so powerful. I held my aching side and crashed on the floor; my sword slipping from my fingers. I hit the ground hard.

I feel so much pain on ribs. I think a few of them are broken. I picked myself up slowly. I've dealt with worse; this should be nothing I couldn't handle.

I hear another roar. I rolled away from the creature's next attack. I could hear the asphalt split under the monster's fist. You could imagine my surprise. If it had punched me like that before then I would've been toast.

"Damn." I muttered under my breath. I glanced around and found my weapon laying at the bend of the alleyway. It was far beyond my reach. Just perfect.

I shifted my eyes to the beast. It stood between me and my tool. I saw the grin on its face. It knew. We stood there watching each other.

Time froze. I stared into my enemy's yellow eyes. I could hear my heart beating. I need to calm down. My heart's rapid beating began to soften. I shoved my hand into my left sleeve and waited.

The creature jumped at me.

I watched the creature reveal its blood stained claws. I stood my ground

It came closer to me.

I did not move.

Closer.

I still did not move.

It was a foot away from me.

I didn't move an inch.

I was within its reach.

Now was my time to move. I skid forward and slid a long knife out of my sleeve. I dodged its claw and ran my blade into its left ribs. I ran the blade straight through the creature's chest and pulled it out when I passed the creature.

Its blood sprayed in my face. I closed my eyes instantly and wiped the blood off of my face.

The monster didn't make a loud roar this time. I turned around and I saw that the creature was on the floor. Its blue blood pooling where it laid.

I couldn't take the chance of it faking again. I slowly inched backwards towards my blade not taking my eyes off the creature. I picked up the blade and made my way back to the beast.

With each step my grip on my sword tightened. With each step my heart beat grew faster. The stress was built tightly in my chest.

After what seemed like an eternity I finally reached the beast. It laid a foot away from me. I realize that if I try to turn it my sword would be too difficult to use without ending up in a world of hurt. I cleaned my blade with my sleeve and sheathed it in a matter of seconds.

Now was the moment of truth. I held my blade with my right hand and bent down over the creature. Sweat drenched my face. My hand drew closer to the beast.

The tension was killing me. I turned the beast over and readied myself to plunge my blade into the creature's heart. It just laid there.

Its eyes were half open and glassy. I heard it expiring breath and groaned. I cleaned my knife, put back into the sheath under my sleeve, and stood up.

I looked down at the dead creature. The blade must have sliced between the ribs into the heart. I sighed and ran my gloved hand through my wet hair. I looked up at the sky and stared up at the glowing moon.

"_Takuya? Takuya, you there?_"

"Hmm." I reached for the intercom in my ear. After letting out an exhausted sigh I spoke. "Takuya here. What's up?"

"_Did you capture the target?_"

I looked down at the dead beast at my feet. I stepped away from the thing before I got my feet wet with the blood. "You could say that."

"_What?_"

I sighed again and leaned against the broken wall. "Look, I had to take drastic measures. The thing nearly killed me." I could hear a groan from the other side of the intercom.

"_Genai's gonna be really pissed at you. He wanted the target alive._"

I moaned. I nearly got killed by a freaking big monster; I did not want to deal with a lecture this early. I quickly turned off the intercom before the blabbing could continue.

I sighed again and looked down at the monster. I looked around at the mess I made in the alleyway. Blue blood everywhere, holes in the ground and walls.

My name is Takuya Kanbara. I lost my memory when I was sixteen years old. All I know is that I was built to become the perfect weapon in destroying these creatures that threaten human life. For eight years I've fought these beasts. Everything was routine. I was assigned to either capture or exterminate the beasts then I was assigned to capture or exterminate a different monster.

I sighed and walked down the alleyway I came through. I entered the streets took in a deep breath of air. I opened my eyes staring at the sky. The winds were changing. I have a feeling that things are about to change in my life.

**********

**There ya have it folks. Hope ya liked it.**

"**Did you do that in first person?"**

**I decided to give it a shot. I like how it came out.**

"**Let's just hope that everyone else liked it too."**

**Oh ye of little faith. I'm sure they'll like it. I have a good gut feeling that it will.**

"**You're taking advice from your gut?"**

**Yeah. Don't you know it's always best to go with your gut feeling?**

"**I'll believe it when I see it."**

**Wanna bet on it.**

"**You're on."**

**Well guys, that's it for now. I had fun with this chapter and I promise you there's a lot in store for this baby. Tell me what you think of it and I'll have this thing up before you could say Halloween. Till then, later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there everybody. How's it going? I hope I didn't take too long.**

"**Since the last chapter I said the word 'Halloween' 932,783,982 times."**

**Why'd you do that?**

"**Cuz last time you said you'd finish the chapter before you could say Halloween."**

**I did? Oh yeah! I did. ^^' Oops.**

"**-_- You idiot."**

**Shut up. You counted how many times you said Halloween so who's the real idiot now? **

"**Go soak your head."**

**After you pal. Anyway, let's get this chapter on the road then, shall we? Here we go. Cameras ready, set, ACTION!!!**

**********

I sighed. What a night. I never expected for that beast to put up such a fight. I mean look at me. I'm a complete wreck. My body feels like a side of beef that's been pounded down by a sledgehammer.

And this big lug is not helping one bit. I moaned and looked over my shoulder and stared at the ugly mug of the dead beast I killed a few minutes ago.

The creature was hanging limply over my shoulder. It head was hanging back and its glassy eyes were staring into the black night sky. This sucker is definitely dead.

I sighed. I took in a deep breath of air and gagged. A horrid smell filled my nose. Oh god. It smelled like rotting meat. This is just perfect. The thing's already rotting.

Well, at least I'm home now. I stood in front of a tall building. Fifty stories tall and as wide as the school a few blocks away. It's easily the biggest building in the area.

I glanced up at the sign on top of the glass door. In big bold letters the words 'HAND Security' was written.

HAND Security is a company that creates advanced security systems used in households, shops, banks, cars. It protects everything. Ever since the company was set up fifteen years ago, crimes have drastically decreased in the city of Shibuya alone.

"Are you coming in or what?"

I snapped out of my temporary trance and looked at the doorman who seemed to be in a bad mood. None the less I smiled at the man and nodded. "I'm coming. You don't need to bite my head off."

I lugged the beast through the doors and I could feel the doorman's glare. Sent chills down my spine. "And can you stop staring at me like that Oikawa? It's creeping me out."

The black haired man snarled and turned away from me.

I shook my head and went through the door. Oikawa is a strange guy. He's never in a good mood. The guy got in trouble with the big man and was demoted. Ever since then he's been really grumpy.

"Welcome back Takuya."

I turned my head away from the man and came face to face with a cheerful young woman with long brown hair. She was the front door girl, Mimi. "Hey Mimi. Got a big one here. You think you can get the elevator started for me?"

"Right away but I gotta warn ya. Genai's in a really bad mood right now. Oh Takuya, you're hurt." She wore a worried look on her face and examined my wounds.

I smiled at her. "I'm fine Mimi. Just a few scratches."

"Oh, you have to learn to be more careful." She told me with a stern tone in her voice. "I swear, one of these days you're going to get yourself killed."

Mimi always took care of me. She'd always make me a home cooked dinner whenever I come back from a mission and she'd always overreact whenever I come back with a wound. In a way, she was like a mother to me.

I wonder what my mother was like. Did she love me? Does she even care what happens to me? And if she did, why did she let this happen to…

Instantly an image appeared in my mind. I saw a bright light and men dressed in white: one with a scalpel, another with a bone saw, and another with a syringe in his hands.

AH! A killer pain struck me like a bulldozer. I fell to my knees and dropped the beast on my back to the side. I held my head and groaned. The pain was murder.

"Oh my. Are you okay?" I hear Mimi ask. I waited for the pain to subside before responding

I looked up at her and smiled. "I'll be fine." I forced myself back to my feet to prove to her that I was okay. "See. I'm good." I saw her sigh. I could tell she wasn't all that convinced. "I gotta go get this thing to the lab before it stinks up the place."

Mimi sighed again and walked to the elevator where she waited for me.

I bent my neck until I heard a few pops. I managed to lug the creature over my back and dragged it to the elevator. The door opened and I dragged the beast inside. "Thanks Mimi."

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay? We don't want Genai getting angrier at you now do we?" Mimi warned me before the door closed.

I dropped the creature on the floor and looked at the buttons. 14, 25, 1, 39, and 50. I pressed the buttons in this sequence and waited.

The elevator started moving. I could feel it going down. Unknown to the public there's a deep underground room under this building.

This is where most of the HANDs work goes to. Unknown to the public Hand has a second purpose.

The sole purpose of the HAND is to protect the public from the creatures of the dark. A few hundred years ago the HAND was a secret society that hunted down these creatures and protected the public from this threat.

The Hand is still a secret society but it hides behind the security company that everyone knows about. No one on the outside knows about us. We are careful not to leave any traces.

The door finally opened.

The area looked like a giant laboratory filled with people wearing black hooded trench coats like mine.

I smiled. Home sweet home. I've been a member of the organization a few days after I lost my memory. They found me in the streets during one of their missions.

**********

_The ordeal occurred at the abandoned factory outside of town where I spent most of my nights. I ran into this place when I ran from the laboratory. My memory was very foggy back then and I had no idea where I should go. I thought this place would be safe until my memory came back to me._

_I was wrong._

_One night while I was asleep I sensed a presence. It was an evil presence. One that was powerful and hungry._

_My eyes jolted open and I stood up. Clenched in my hand was a scalpel. The same one I used to break out of the laboratory._

_I scanned my surroundings quietly and waited. I could not see the creature or hear its breathing but I could sense its presence. It was somewhere nearby but I could not tell where._

_I heard a tapping noise coming from behind me. I quickly spun around and readied the scalpel. I stared into the darkness and waited once more._

_I had to stay calm. If I lost my cool I would have been a goner. I hear the tapping again but this time it came from my left. My eyes shifted to that direction. All I could see was darkness._

_It seemed like hours had passed when I heard the tapping coming from my right. This time, not only did I hear tapping but I heard the scraping of metal. I turned to my right and saw nothing._

_I squinted my eyes. I see two strange objects hiding in the shadows. Antennas?_

_Out of nowhere a great beast lunged at me. Twin sickles coming down on me like guillotines._

_I was quick to dodge the sudden assault. I landed on my feet and spun around to face the assailant. It was a giant bug. A mantis. A black mantis with many soulless yellow eyes and blood stained sickles._

_I stared wide eyed at the creature. It turned to me and hissed. I could smell the scent of blood and drool in its foul breath. It quickly made its way at me raising its sickles above its head._

_The blade came down at me but I swiftly dodged to right and struck at its arm with the scalpel in my hand. It proved to have no effect as the medical tool snapped in half after meeting the creature's armor._

_It swung the arm at me and hit me in the stomach sending me falling backwards a few feet away from it. I quickly sprung up and ran from the beast. I needed to find a safe place to hide or at least find a weapon to use to fend the beast off._

_I hear the tapping once more. The creature was following me. I need to think fast. Wait a minute. I remember there being a room with a ten inch thick door of steel. That would be a good place to trap the creature. Or at least stall it long enough to get away._

_I turned left and saw the flight of stairs that lead to the door. I have to be fast if I want to survive. I reached the stairs and ran up as fast as I could._

_The beat of the tapping fastened. I dare not look behind me fearing that I would miss my step and trip._

_I look up ahead and see a long hollow pipe lying on the floor at the end of the staircase. I leapt for the pipe and once I was sure the mantis was within my reach I swung the pipe as hard as I could at its face._

_I heard the sounds of crunching and a painful scream. The mantis fell off the staircase and landed on the ground. Its hard shelled face was severely damaged. Yellow blood was pouring out of the wound._

_I looked at the pipe in my hand and saw that it was bent. Had the force of my blow really done this much damage? I had no time to think further on the subject when I saw the creature return to its pursue on my life._

_I threw the pipe at it and ran to the door. Right now, it was my safest bet. It was just a few feet in front of me._

_I heard the scraping of metal and saw the creatures sickle like arms appear over the ledge. It had climbed up the wall to get to me._

_The mantis got over the edge and stood in front of me._

_I quickly turned around and ran in the other direction. The safe room was useless to me now. I had to find something to use. Something to help me out of this situation._

_I heard the tapping again. It was following me once more._

_I looked ahead for something I could use. My eyes widened and a grin was plastered on my face. A few feet away was a work table with a toolbox._

_I arrived at the table and took the toolbox with me as I continued running from the creature. Let's see what we got here. Screwdriver, hammer, wrench, ratchet… ah, a power drill. Perfect._

_I turned around and hurled the wrenches and ratchets at the mantis. The creature shrieked and recoiled._

_I ran forward dropping the toolbox and held the drill and hammer in my hands. I had to make sure my aim was right on the mark. If I fail, this would definitely be the end of me._

_The mantis recovered from my previous attack and hissed at me again._

"_Shut up!" I threw the hammer at its face making it shriek once more. While it was still trying to recover from my attack I jumped up at its chest. I held its shoulder tightly and rammed the drill bit into the creature's mouth. "Eat this." I turned the drill on._

_Green blood spurted out of its mouth and the creature let out another terrible shriek. I shoved the drill further. Its blood spurting all over my light blue robe._

_The creature's shrieks died out. I released the drill and pulled my hand out of the mantis's mouth. My hand was completely covered in green blood._

_I pushed forward and forced the dead bug to fall backwards. I stood up and sighed a relieved sigh. It was finally over._

"_What the hell?"_

_I turned around and was surprised to see a person standing at the front door of the factory. He wore a black hooded coat and wore a sword on its back._

_The man stepped forward and looked up at me and the monster. "Did you do this?"_

_I nodded slowly._

_The man removed his hood revealing his balding head. The man seemed old but still threatening. The man laughed and smiled. "We could use a man like you. What's your name boy?"_

_I hesitated. What is this old man talking about? He could use a man like me? What is that supposed to mean? Reluctantly, I answered. "Takuya. Takuya Kanbara."_

_The old man smiled at me. "Nice to meet you Takuya. My name is Genai."_

**********

Genai took me in. Had Mimi take care of me until I was ready to take care of myself. He had me join the Hand convinced that I had the skills to do the job right. I really had no option then. I owed the man for taking me in.

Genai's descendents originally started the HAND. Now, Genai became the leader of the HAND when he became 23 and ran the whole operation since then. He was also the one who invented the company appearance.

"Yo Taky! You made it!"

"Hmm?" I lost my train of thought and saw a hefty man with short spiky brown hair coming running up to me. JP Shibuyama. We both joined at the same time and became best friends after that. I could always count on him when it came to being prepared. "Hey JP, what's up?"

"Dude, Genai wants to see you right away." The man told me with a worried look on his face. "He seems really worried about something."

I was surprised. Genai was never a man to worry about anything. I wonder, what could possibly have Genai so worried. I looked to my friend. "Well, lead the way." I picked up my prey and gave it to one of the HAND members who was walking passed me. "Here, take this to the examination room."

The guy was startled and tried to say something.

"Let's go." I followed JP leaving the guy with dead beast in his quivering hands.

We continued through a series of hallways until we stood in front of a grand wooden door. Genai's office. The one place I was afraid to go to when I knew Genai was angry at me.

He usually gets angry at me when I fail to follow his instructions during one of my missions. He always gives me a tongue lashing and sends me to my room.

I turned to JP. "Wish me luck." I opened the door and walked into the room.

Bookcases covered the walls. The bookcases were littered with books, models, scrolls, tomes, and much more. On the back wall was a grand map of the world. Pins were placed in certain areas on the map along with details about the area.

In front of the map was a magnificently carved wooden desk and behind the desk was an old man with a black coat. Genai; the leader of the HAND; a man who wasn't afraid of anything; a man who wore a grim look on his face. I had a bad feeling. Could this be the beginning of the change I felt back in the alleyway?

**********

**And that's a wrap! Chapter two is done. Good job everyone.**

"**Hey, was the drill in the head necessary? No one deserves an ending like that. Not even a giant bug."**

**So you'd rather let the mantis rip you shreds?**

"**I didn't say that."**

**I thought so. Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter and the few characters I introduced here. You'll be seeing more next time, including a certain blond that I'm sure a lot of you are waiting to see.**

"**Well, it's time to say goodbye guys. Later."**

**You know, I didn't get a "Happy Birthday" from you last week. (Cracks knuckles)**

"**Oh crap."**

**Hope you guys stay tuned for the next chapter. Lager guys! (Goes to beat up OC)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there everybody! Hope you guys enjoyed your Thanksgiving!**

"**Dude, not everyone celebrates that holiday either."**

**Do you have to ruin my parade. I just got back with another chapter to the story and I wanna keep a positive mood.**

"**Oh fine. Whatever. If you need me I'll be in the hot tub."**

**We have a hot tub?**

"**Yeah, of course we… Oh damn! I was supposed to keep that a secret."**

**Why you little… I can't believe you hid that from me! I'm gonna kick your butt!**

"**What about the chapter?"**

**Oh yeah. Well guys, here the new chapter for the fic. Hope you guys enjoy it. Camera's ready, set, ACTION!!! Now I'm gonna kick your butt!**

**********

I felt a shiver run down my spine. I could see the troubled look in Genai's face. It was startling. Not once has that man worn a face like that. I shook my feeling away and stepped forward.

"Genai? You wanted to see me?" I asked once all my fear was contained.

Genai looked up at me. Age was really getting the better of him. His hair was withering away and the wrinkles on his face were more visible than ever. He coughed before he spoke. "I'm afraid I have grim news. Do you remember Edward?"

"You mean the jackass who's too cocky for his own good?" I asked remembering the man.

Edward is one of our best agents but he was too cocky for his own good. He always had to have his way and never took orders from anyone, and barely any from Genai. Plus he's a major jackass, pushing everyone around when he felt like it, like he owned the place. The last I heard of him, he was on a mission to a small island near Italy. Haven't heard from him since.

I folded my arms and raised my eyebrow in confusion. "What does that lousy bastard have to do with any of this?"

Genai sighed, probably annoyed with my crude language. He sat up straight in his chair and picked up a large bag from the floor and placed it on his desk.

I was puzzled. It sounded like something squished in there or something. I couldn't really make out what was in there. The shape was round and it seemed to be as big as a bowling ball or something like that. "What's that?"

He closed his eyes and dug into the bag. He then pulled out the content of the bag and I was horrified to see what that content was.

It was terrible. It was a severed head. I stared wide-eyed into the glassy dead eyes of the dead man's head. Its long blond hair was bloodstained and its mouth was gaping wide with horror and pain. Its eyes were bulging out its sockets. The most frightening part was however, the words scratched into the forehead. 'NICE TRY'.

I quickly turned away from the horrid sight. Who could have possibly done this? What kind of sadistic monster would do this to someone? Wait, he was one of our best agents. How could anyone be able to do this to him?

I looked to the old man who had put the severed head away back into the bag. "Who did this?"

"I'm afraid I do not know. This was brought to us by a local from the area. She told us that Edward went missing one night. They figured he went to deal with the problem himself. But two days later, after dawn they found this next to a blood drained corpse." Genai answered grimly.

My eyes widened. I found it hard to take in. It was scary. No creature I've met could do this. What could this thing be? It had to be very deadly... and very smart. What could it be?

Before I could ponder any further I heard the door open behind me. I quickly turned around to face whoever had entered. I was stunned to see a beautiful girl standing in front of me.

Long blond locks cascaded down her back, her milky pale skin was flawless, and her eyes; they were a brilliant sea green color. She was breathtaking. For an instant, I felt... happy. like all my fear just faded away.

My eyes wondered down to what she was wearing; a simple white tank top under a jean jacket, tight dark blue jeans, and a pair of knee high boots. Nice.

"Um, hi there."

She spoke. Her voice was so heavenly. I smiled. Then I realized what I was doing and quickly snapped out of my trance and tried not to make myself look like an idiot. "Um, hi."

"Takuya, this is Zoe Orimoto. She was the local who found Edward's head." Genai introduced the girl. He then looked at her. "Miss Orimoto, this is Takuya Kanbara. He will be the one coming with you back to your town."

"Wait what?" I was startled. I looked at the man feeling as if I missed something. "You're sending me away?"

"Yes. You are our best agent and I feel like your skills and experience will be sufficient for whatever threatens the people in Miss Orimoto's home town." Genai answered resting his chin on his hands. "Do not worry. You won't be going alone. I am sending another agent with you."

I looked back at the girl who just stood there silently. She just looked at me with a strange look on her face. I couldn't make it out. What could she be thinking? I shook those thoughts out of my mind and turned back at Genai. "But Genai, you never sent me away from Japan before. I don't know what's out there. Are you..."

"You are to pack your equipment and go with Miss Orimoto back to her town where you will face the creatures that did this and defeat them." Genai ordered sternly. "You have a few hours to get ready. I suggest you get going."

I nodded. I can't believe this. I just got back from a mission and in a few hours I am to leave my comfort zone and go a strange new land to which I have no idea what will be waiting for me. I sighed and walked to the door. I looked at the girl one more time before leaving the room.

I closed the door behind me and sighed. Edward's decapitated head appeared in my mind. What could have done this? It's not like anything I've ever faced before. Whatever it was, it was most likey very strong, cunning, and smart enough to be able to do all this. What am I up against here?

"Hey Takuya, did you get a look at that girl in there?" JP asked once he got to my side, breaking me from my train of thought. "She was freaking hot man! Do you think she would go for a guy like me?"

"JP, I've got other things to worry about right now." I answered with a tired sigh. "I need to get ready."

"No worries. I packed all our stuff so we're ready to go." JP stated with a grin on his face. "You just need to pack some extra clothes for the way."

I stopped in my tracks. "Did you say 'our stuff'? You're going too?"

"Duh, someone's gotta watch your back out there and knowing you you'll be needing a guy like me out there where you'll be wasting bullets by the minute." He answered with an even bigger grin.

I sighed. I guess I should be thankful. JP was as reliable as they come. Thanks Genai. "Well, I need to get changed. I'll see you in a few."

"Kay dude but remember, we're leaving in three hours." JP called out holding three fingers to me.

I slumped to my room feeling exhausted. I did my best to block out the thoughts of what could have killed Edward. I didn't want to deal with that right now. I sighed happily when I finally came to my room. Room 505.

I pulled out the key from my pocket and unlocked the door. I came in and closed the door.

The room was not much to look at but it was home. A single bed with beige sheets sat against the right wall in-between the door to the bathroom and the north wall. A small table stood next to the bed; on it were a digital clock and a picture of me, JP, and Mimi at the park. At the top left corner of the room a drawer with all my clothes. Against the middle of the left wall was a small table with three chairs around it.

I sighed again and collapsed on my bed. It felt so soft. I closed my eyes for a few moments... _Thump!_

Ah! My eyes widened. Pain struck my heart. I forced myself up and clutched my heart. The pain. It's so intense. I balled up my bare fist and clenched my teeth. It was like I was being stabbed through the heart.

I feel a burning in my ribs. It was like being burned alive. I tried my best not to scream. So much pain. I hear sizzling coming from my right shoulder.

Painfully , I removed my coat and looked at my bare shoulder. Red steam was coming from my wound. The pain suddenly jolted. "AH!!!"

I fell to the floor and screamed again. My heart was going to burst. My muscles were tightening and the pain… It hurts so much. I can't stand it. I screamed again. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!"

I collapsed and started panting. The pain... The pain subsided. It was gone. Thank god.

I forced myself up. I felt so weak. As soon as I got to my feet I stumbled over to the wall. I looked over to my shoulder and saw that the wound had disappeared. I then pressed my hand over my broken ribs. They were healed. It was as if they were never broken.

I leaned against the wall for a few moments before I could stand up on my own. This happened every time I got hurt. Cuts, broken bones, bruises, torn ligaments, poisons, no matter what happened to me, I would always recover from it... in the same painful way.

I walked over to my bed and sat on it. I fell back and took a deep breath. I had three hours. I'm sure JP won't mind if I take a nap for a little while.

Outside sounds were muffling away to pure silence and I found myself drifting away from the waking world.

**********

_I see a bright light. It's so bright, I can barely see. Where am I? I try getting up but something's keeping me down. Something cold and smooth. Like metal. It's keeping my arms and legs down on this thing. I think it might be a table._

_It's a metal table I think. I'm not sure what this can be but it's really cold to my bare back. I can still move my head. I look around the best I can. I'm in a white room. Nothing decorated the walls and on the ceiling were nothing but bright white lights._

_Wait, there's a door. Over there in the corner. I struggled to move. I need to get out of here. I don't like it here one bit. "Come on. I need to get out of here."_

_My heart was racing. Whoever did this to me is sure to come in here and do something horrible to me. God knows what they'll do to me._

_I pulled at the binds at my arms. Come on, break. Break! Break damn it!_

"_What do you think you are doing, boy?"_

_My heart stopped. Standing at the door were three men. Three men in white scrubs. I could not see their faces. They wore white cloth over their faces covering everything below the eyes._

_One of them was carrying a set of tools._

"_Cute. The boy's trying to escape." One of the men stated to the others._

_I glared at the men. "What are you going to do to me?"_

_The men stayed silent and made their way towards me. "Get away from me! Get away from me!"_

"_Shut the boy up." The middle doctor ordered and the doctor to his left walked up to me and put a gag in my mouth._

_I tried to fight the man but he was too strong. It wasn't too long until the gag was tight around my mouth._

"_There, that'll shut the brat up." The doctor told his leader._

_The three were all around me now. What are they going to do to me? I struggled to break free from these bonds but nothing worked._

_I looked at one of the doctors. He had a scalpel in his hand. We walked over to my left side and had the scalpel hover over my bare chest, over my heart. My gaze followed the small metal blade as it grew nearer and nearer to my chest._

"_I will now commence with the experiment." The next thing I know I feel the sharp blade cutting into my chest. I tried so hard to scream but the gag kept my voice from echoing in the room._

_The pain was horrible. I tried my best to endure it. I clenched my fists and tightened up. I could feel the blade moving. It cut further down my chest._

_I tried to scream again, again to no avail. All I could hear was my muffled screaming. The cold blade dug deeper. The pain hurt so much. I could feel the tears run down my face._

_They were laughing at me. I hate them so much. How I wish I could use this scalpel and cut them open. I want to show them the pain they put me through._

_I moaned feeling relieved. They had pulled the knife out of my chest. I feel the horrible stinging on my chest. It was like I was being branded. But I was better than the pain I felt before. My labored breathing softened slightly._

_Pain jolted to my head. I could feel the doctors opening into my chest; pulling my flesh apart. I heaved and screamed to the heavens. The pain is killing me. I need to make it stop. I need to make it stop._

"_Ready to insert the Goliath spores." The doctor told to the others when his hands stopped wandering._

_I was wracked with so much pain that my vision grew blurry. I could barely make out the images in front of me. The doctor held a syringe in his hand. A syringe with a strange green liquid._

_I watched as the needle grew closer and closer to my exposed chest. I looked into the doctor's eyes pleading for him to stop this cruel act. I saw no mercy in his eyes. Just cruelty and fascination._

_Then, everything went white. Blank. As if I had faded into oblivion._

**************

I bolted up panting. I held my chest, where my heart was. Where the scar was. That dream. I've been having that dream ever since I could remember. I knew that that's how I all started for me. Whatever they injected me with, it's what made me like this.

My strength, speed, stamina, flexibility, everything. It was all enhanced by this strange foreign substance. But this damn thing robbed me of everything I held dear in my life before then. My life, my family, my memories of them. Hell, my memories of everything. Absolutely everything.

I want revenge on these men and I tried many times to find the men who did this to me but to no avail. No matter where I looked, no matter how hard I try, I could not find them. It was as if they didn't exist.

"Yo Taky! Hurry up man!"

I sighed again and stood up. Impatient aren't we? I quickly packed my stuff, got a new shirt and coat, and headed off to meet JP. "I'm here. And you know, a text or a phone call would have sufficed over a scream down the hall."

JP feigned laughed and swung his pack over his shoulder. "Let's just go man."

"Dude, we got plenty of time. We don't need to be in such a rush." I told him and grabbing a fresh soda from an unsuspecting agent who passing by. I threw a few quarters at the guy and thanked him for the soda.

JP stopped in his tracks and looked at me with an 'I can't believe you just said that' look. I looked at him with a confused look on my face. "What?"

"_TAKUYA KANBARA AND JP SHIBUYAMA! GET YOUR ASSES UP TO THE HELICOPTER LIFT RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE 10 MINUTES LATE!_"

My eyes widened. Ten minutes late?! You've gotta be kidding me! I can't believe all that time went by already. I bolted to the helicopter lift as fast as I could with JP behind me. I quickly arrived at the stairs and ran up as fast as I could.

Screw the dream, cuz right now, I got a bigger problem to deal with. Edward's head flashed in my mind. 'NICE TRY'. I still wonder what did this. I shook my head not being able to think of any possible suspects. Well, I'll find out eventually.

I saw the door to the sky deck. I kicked the door open and saw the helicopter waiting for us up at the top of the building.

JP arrived behind me with an amazed look on his face. "How the hell did you beat me up here without taking the elevator?"

I shrugged then turned back to the helicopter. In it, the blond girl from before. By the look on her face I could tell she was ready to go. And so was I. Time to get moving.

**********

**Ah, the water feels nice. ^^ (sits in hot tub) I could stay here for hours.**

"**Man, this sucks. The tub was supposed to me all mine. Why did I have to go and open my big mouth like that?"**

**Because you're an idiot. ^^**

"**That was a rhetorical question moron."**

**I know, I just wanted to answer it. I like calling you an idiot. It's part of my daily ritual now.**

"**You're a jerk."**

**Everyone has their own opinion. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I added some ****freak****y, some fr****ighten****ing stuff, and a hint of fun****ny****. So it's freak-ighten-ny.**

"**Wow Page. Wow."**

**Shut up. I can say whatever I want. Well, that's it for now. I'll be seeing you guys later. Ciao.**


	4. Chapter 4

**On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Um, stuff. ^^**

"**Page, never try to sing that song again."**

**Come on, I wasn't that bad.**

"**You were horrible."**

**Shut up. It's Christmas… Well, three days after Christmas. ^^**

"**I don't think that counts."**

**Whatever. Anyway, how you all doing? I know I haven't been around lately but I'm hoping that that changes after today.**

"**If it does it'll be a Christmas miracle."**

**Was that really necessary? Anyway, here's the new chapter to Wanderer. I'll let you guys get to reading that so enough of my blabbing. Here we go. Camera's ready, set, ACTION!!!**

**********

Wow, I can't believe this is happening to me. I'm going to foreign country. Man, never figured this would happen to me. I always thought I'd stay in Japan for as long as I live.

I looked out the window. We moved from the helicopter to a private jet, compliments of Genai. In a few hours we'd arrive at Italy. I wonder what it's like over there.

Of course we're not going there for the sights. We're going because of… her. That girl. That girl sitting across from me. The girl from a small island within the borders of Italy. The girl whose town was attacked by a vicious and terrifying monster; one that has already killed one of our best and did a good job in showing it off.

I sighed and rubbed my temples. What am I getting myself into? I looked over to our friend. She seemed to be worried about something.

I wonder what was going on in her mind. Is there something she's not telling us? No, that's not it. She's not hiding anything. I can see these things and what I see tells me that she's not hiding anything.

I sighed and looked away from her. Man, this lack of sleep is making me paranoid. Maybe I should… no, sleep won't do me any help. Not with that nightmare haunting me every time I try. No way am I going through that again, not now at least.

"Yo Taky, I got something for you."

I turned my attention away from the window and looked over to my friend. He held a large bag in his hands. I was curious to see what JP had in there. "What's in there?"

JP smiled at me and dug his big hands into the bag. "Well, I figured since we're going on a dangerous mission we'll be needing better equipment."

Better equipment? I raised my eyebrow and saw him pull out grand tools: magnums of greater caliber, a shotgun with a longer and wider firing range, a knife with a sharp serrated edge. I smiled at JP. "Wow buddy, this is awesome."

"You haven't seen the best part yet." JP stated and took something else out of his bag. This was something that really amazed me: twin blades, both made out of black metal and around the length of my forearms. A rectangular slit was placed into the blades, starting from an inch above the handle to an inch below the tip.

I marveled at the twin blades. With a blade in each hand I maneuver them with swift, fluid motions. I smiled. They were perfect.

JP held the black leather sheath out in front of me. "I knew you were gonna like 'em."

I sheathed the blades; they went on either side of the sheath which was something I really liked. It was kinda sneaky. It looked like one weapon instead of two.

Eagerly I strapped the twin weapons around my waist at my back. "Man JP. This is awesome."

JP smiled and whispered something to me. "Check this out man."

I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Ms. Orimoto. Oh great, he's gonna try and hit on her. I stood there silently watching JP dig into his bag once again. "Hey babe, I got something for you too."

She saw right through his action and shook her head. "No thank you." She said sweetly. "I'm fine with what I have." Miss Orimoto revealed a modified Colt Peacemaker that was hidden in the inner pocket of her jacket.

"Whoa." That was some piece of equipment she had there. I can't believe she has something like with her. "Where the hell did you get that?"

She smiled at me and winked while putting the gun away in her jacket. "A girl has her ways. Now, if you'll excuse me boys, I need to go to the girl's room."

Wow, she sure is something else. I kept her in my gaze for as long as I could before she disappeared into the bathroom.

JP nudged at my side with his elbow. "Man, I'm so jealous. She was totally flirting with you there."

I groaned and stood up. "I'm gonna go talk to Yoma and Maria and see how long we have until we get there." Anything to get away from JP right now. He's gonna be at it for hours and it's gonna annoy the hell outa me.

Yoma and Maria are the best pilots around. And they were best friends. Nothing could ever separate them. They were always there for each other. I kinda envy them for that.

Anyway, as I make my way over to them I felt something. Like something bad was about to happen. Whoa! The plane just shook and tilted to the left. "What the…" I managed to keep my balance but JP wasn't so lucky. He was tumbling all over the place.

What the hell are Yoma and Maria doing? I carefully stepped forward towards the cockpit and managed not to fall over. "Hey! What's the big idea you two?!"

I opened the door and outa nowhere the wind had pounded into my body nearly knocking me over. Holy crap! The windshield is shattered! to my dismay, I failed to notice that the windshield was the least of my problems.

"TAKUYA!!!"

That was Yoma. She was against the wall, eyes wide open and full of fear. "SAVE HER!!!"

Save her? Maria! I reached for the girl when I noticed there was someone else in here with us. My heart stopped when I saw that this person was biting into Maria's neck. A person in a black cloak.

And Maria. The poor girl was bleeding to death and this thing was drinking every last drop of her blood.

I reached for my blade but then it stared up at me with his burning red eyes. His eyes. They were terrifying. Like they were those of the Devil's. Those eyes. Those soulless crimson red eyes.

I was frozen. I can't move. No matter how hard I try I can't move. My fingers are shaking and my throat was as dry as a desert.

AHHH!!! My heart… Not again! No this pain is different… It's worse… My body is killing me. It feels like it's on fire... No worse… Like it was burning in the hottest flames of Hell.

My vision's getting blurry. My shoulder hit something. I think my knees gave out and I'm now leaning against the wall.

Stand up! Don't black out! Don't give in to the pain!

"Help her!"

That was Yoma. Maria… She's dying. Shove that pain away Kanbara. God damn it Kanbara! Get up!

"Let her go…" I ordered silently, clenching my fists and tightening my grip on the blade strapped to my waist. "…Now."

The man chuckled. That just made my blood boil more than it was already. He pulled away from the poor girl and smiled at me wickedly; blood dripping out of hiss mouth.

He dropped the girl to the floor and stepped towards me slowly, tauntingly. No way in Hell was I going to let this get the chance to attack me.

I pulled the black blade out of its sheath and lunged forward ready to plunge it into this man's cold, black heart.

Ah! My head banged into the wall. My head's disoriented. I can't feel the floor under my feet anymore and… I can't breathe… Something's choking me...

My vision was slowly returning to me. Damn it. That man dodged my attack and already had me in his grasp. He's holding me up with his left hand and held my blade tauntingly in his other hand.

Damn this thing is fast.

"Is this really the best you got? How disappointing… I was hoping that you'd at least put up a better fight than that last one."

What? That last one? Did it mean Edward? This thing. It murdered Edward.

I grabbed it's wrist with both my hands trying to keep myself from suffocating and to try and break free from its grip. Damn, it's strong too.

Wait a minute… My knife. I reached into my sleeve and gripped the handle to the knife tightly. I pulled at it. The leather sheath was sliced open and the blade cut through my sleeve and sliced into the creature's hand.

I landed on the floor and so did its hand. I gasped out for air. If it had held on to me like that for another second my lungs would have exploded.

The demented man screamed and clutched his bleeding stump. He hissed and glared down at me.

His snare turned into a stunned frown when he saw the gun I had pointed at his head. My vision may have been blurry but that didn't stop me from aiming at his head.

A smile escaped my lips. "See ya later buddy." I pulled the trigger and the man fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

Someone came up to me and put their hand on my shoulder. I saw a flash of gold and immediately know it was her, Zoe Orimoto.

"Man Takuya, what the hell happened in here?"

"Maria? Please, stay with me."

That was Yoma. I pushed myself up and made my way to the pilots. This isn't good. She's going to bleed to death.

Thinking fast, I tore my sleeve off and wrapped it around her neck like a bandage. It wasn't much but it was enough to keep her blood from pouring out. "JP, get me some ice. Yoma, I need you to get to the controls and keep this plane from crashing into the ground."

Immediately, the two did as they were told. Thank god they were doing as they were told. Things will go a bit smoother now.

I picked up the unconscious girl and took her into the passenger area. "Everything's gonna be okay now. Don't worry."

Hissing… Did I hear hissing? I turned around and saw the man standing right in front of me. Impossible. I shot his brains out. I'm certain of it. The wound is still on his head. How the hell is this possible?

Damn it. He's gonna strike at me. I can't move without getting risking Maria's safety. Damn it!

The man hissed and was about to lung at me but he stopped. Why did it stop? I noticed a black blade sticking out of his chest. "What the?"

The creature fell to the floor and Miss Orimoto was standing there holding the blade that was sticking though the man's chest. She must have found my blade and snuck up behind him. Quick thinking.

She gave a relieved sigh and smiled at me. "You okay?"

I sighed and laid the unconscious brunet on one of the seats. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the help."

She walked over to me and looked down at Maria. "Poor thing. She's been through so much."

"Dude I got the… What the hell?" I turned to JP who just stood there looking down at the dead man on the floor. "He's dead now, right?"

"He should be." Zoe answered before handing me the blade. "Here you go."

"Thanks." I took the blade and cleaned it on my remaining sleeve before sheathing it. "I need a nap. A nice long nap."

Right now I couldn't care less if I were to get nightmares. I'm dead tired and I could pass out any second now.

As I made my way to a separate row of seats I told JP to put the ice on Maria's neck to keep it from getting worse.

I was never expecting any of this. I was never expecting a bloodsucking monster. I was never expecting my body to react the way it did. I wasn't expecting any of this. I wasn't expecting any of this at all.

Remember when I said that things were changing in my life. I have a feeling that they're not for the better.

**********

**Well, there ya have it guys. Zoe saves the day.**

"**Nice one."**

**Yup. Now I hope you guys enjoyed the show. Worked pretty hard on this.**

"**Whatever you say, now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go get some ice cream."**

**Save some for me.**

"**Not making any promises here."**

**-_- Whatever, I didn't want any ice cream anyway. Well, unless you wanna hear me complain about the ice cream thing, I bid you ado. Hopefully the next chapter will be up really soon. I'm pretty sure I got my drive to write back with me. Well that's it for now. See you guys later. Ciao.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:****I know I've been missing for the passed few years. Pretty much just dropped off the face of the earth. I just lost the will to write fanfiction since I've been writing my own original work. It's consumed almost all of my free time and took up all of my creativity. I'm a little ashamed to say that I do browse fanfiction often, now more than usual since I've been somewhat lacking in my original work, but I've never bothered to log back on.**

**I guess the first thing I want to address is my apology for well... disappearing. I know I at least had a few people interested in the 'Wanderer' or 'Legends' and really wanted to see more. I do plan to get back to work on fanfiction now considering I've gotten just about as far as I can with my original work at the moment. I plan to work on the 'Wanderer' and hopefully get it finished. If I'm feeling ambitious 'Legends' will get an update too. I'll keep my fingers crossed. A lot is up in the air right now. Let's see where it takes us.**

**Well, that's it for now. Let's get started. Camera's ready, set, Action.**

Needless to say I couldn't get any sleep, whether that was a blessing or a curse I'm not sure. My mind was going a million miles an hour. With what happened earlier; that thing that attacked us and left poor Maria in such a poor state… well, I can't help but feel a little nervous.

I never imagined that something like that could exist. It was faster than me. Nothing could outrun me like that. I… I still can't believe how fast that thing had me in its grip. I barely had a chance to react. If it weren't for the knife I kept in my sleeve…

And when that thing got back up after I blew its brains out… This is nothing like anything I've ever faced before. Every monster I've faced up to now pale in comparison to this beast. Nothing has left my blood boiling with such intensity. Nothing burned like this before. It was really like Hell's fire was lit within me.

Miss Orimoto looked calm though there was a hint of nervousness in her look as she and JP tended to Maria's neck. It had stopped bleeding after some time but with the way she looked at the incapacitated girl, it made me feel like there was still something wrong with her.

I stood up and walked over to the seat facing her. I didn't care how my body ached with my movements. I wanted answers.

She let out a sigh. She probably figured out my intentions. "I suppose I owe you an explanation. I intended to wait until we landed but with what's happened…"

I nodded in agreement. You're damn right I want an explanation. I shouldn't be learning this AFTER dealing with the enemy. "I want to know everything you know."

JP shuffled uneasily in his seat. He could probably tell that I was on edge. I'm pretty sure our client knows as well or else she might not have been so compliant.

"You see… it started about a few months ago." The blond started, looking downcast as she spoke. "One day, my friends and I went exploring in the woods nearby. We were an adventurous group. As we were exploring we discovered an old manor. My friend Yolei said it was probably built when our town was founded. It was ancient and something felt really off…"

The look on her face as she spoke. I don't know what words I could use to describe it. I was beginning to feel for this girl and I haven't even heard the entire story. She just seemed so upset by this…

She took another breath before speaking. "One of the boys, Ken, was curious and he was the only one of us who even dared go near it… We tried stopping him but he was so stubborn… he wanted to go inside. Yolei managed to convince him to turn back." Zoe lowered her gaze even further. I couldn't see her face with her golden hair covering it. "Something happened… I don't know how but a few days later… Ken just… disappeared."

I bit my lip, not sure what to say. She was clearly upset by this and I just couldn't find the right words to comfort her. I looked to JP and saw he had a similar look on his face. Neither of us knew what to do.

"…and it didn't stop with Ken." She muttered, getting our attention again with her voice shaking. "…people just started disappearing. I… I lost Yolei too…"

JP gulped, his face going pale. He didn't like where this was going.

"What do you mean 'disappear'?" I asked after I finally found my voice. "Do you mean… things like that…" I glanced back at the beast's corpse that still laid in a bloody heap near the cockpit. "they're behind the disappearances?"

Zoe nodded. "Yes but… that's not all there is too it."

I leaned forward, my fingers intertwined before my mouth, hiding the frown on my face. I expected more but at the same time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear any more of this story.

"You see… of all the disappearances… it's only the men's bodies we find…" Zoe shuddered and looked up at me, eye to eye. She was on the verge of tears! "…they were found like your friend…"

Like my… oh no. I couldn't hold the gasp that escaped my lips. She was talking about Edward. His head had been decapitated… She's telling us that all of the missing men had been decapitated!

JP was shaking in his seat. He was absolutely terrified. He wasn't a field agent. He's never experienced battle before. He's never had to fight for his life before…

I feel my body tense up at the thought if it all. All of the missing men just completely… wait… what about the… "…and the women?" I croaked out.

She couldn't help but shed her tears before motioning towards the corpse.

No… it couldn't be.

I looked over to the corpse, dread filling up my entire being. The voice it spoke with… it was hard to hear but… but now that I think about it…

I stood up and at a snail's pace I approached the corpse. The hand it held me with… it had the grip of a python but…

I crouched down and reached for its hood. I saw its burning red eyes but… I couldn't make out much of its face…

I finally managed to steal myself and pulled the hood back away from its head. She was right… before me was a woman.

Her long chestnut hair was pulled back as to not get in her face. At one point her face had been pretty but it was now contorted in an ugly snarl, pain and hatred just oozing out of her glassy stare. Most disturbing was the blood that had stained her chalk white face and soaked through her hair from where I shot her. She looked like a red faced demon.

I took a long, and honestly much needed, breath to help calm my nerves.

"…the women turn into… those things?!" JP asked out of pure shock. That seemed to send him over the edge. I swear, he looked like he was about to break down. I can't blame the guy though.

Miss Orimoto nodded. "A-about a few weeks after some of the girls were taken… the attacks started. Anyone caught out at night were…"

I approached her and placed my hands gently on her shoulders, making her fall silent from the gesture. She didn't need to tell anymore of her story that she didn't want to. I won't force her to do that. "It's going to be okay." I told her, getting her to look up at me. "We're going to help you."

"But Takuya… how're we… there's just the two of us… maybe we should call for…"

"I can handle this." I stated evenly, interrupting JP. "I'm better than Edward was and you know me JP. You know what I have. It will give me the edge I need. I'll be ready for them this time." There was no way I was going to let these things get the better of me again. I will not. Gruesome details aside, I have to be able to do this. Genai entrusted me with this. And she needs our help. Her entire town needs our help. "I can do this with what I have."

Images of Edward's head came back into my mind. 'NICE TRY'. I won't let that happen to us. I won't let anymore people wind up dead or turned into those things.

"You have to destroy the heart." Zoe spoke up, getting my attention. She wiped the tears that stained her face and sat up straight. It looks like she's finally calmed down a bit. I'm a bit relieved to see that. "It's the only way to kill them. They're vulnerable to sunlight but that's what the cloaks are for I think. They burn up really bad but it's not lethal."

Kill through the heart and vulnerable to sunlight. Okay. Got it. Need to be sure to aim at the heart from now on. I can do this.

"Are they vulnerable to silver?" I asked.

Typically most creatures of the dark have a vulnerability to silver. It's said that silver can be used to purify and kill bacteria and other harmful things. The dark is one of those things; silver can be used to kill if used with deadly force or used to weaken and bind the dark. Because of that most of our weapons; standard broad swords, axes, spears, knives, chains, bullets; almost everything metal is made of a silver alloy.

"To an extent. We don't have much on silver though." She answered though she didn't seem so sure. "The best way to deal with them is to go for the heart."

I nodded. I think I know everything I need to know. I guess my next question… I turned my gaze to Maria. "Is she going to turn into one of them?"

I heard collective gasps. JP looked like he would jump right out of his seat. And I'm certain Yoma has been listening in to the details.

Zoe bit her lip. I think she's debating with herself on whether or not Maria would become one of them.

For once, on this entire flight, please let there be good news. Please let Maria be okay. The poor girl didn't do anything wrong. And she's suffered enough from this as it is. She's Yoma's best friend and I can't imagine how she's taking this.

I looked up to meet Zoe's gaze. She still had that look of confliction in her eyes. She seemed… nervous as well. I suppose with the way I've been hounding her with questions, you couldn't really blame her.

"I don't really know." She finally answered and brushed Maria's short deep brown locks out of her face. "...we don't see how it's passed on. We just hear… screams of pain… it was torturous to hear…"

Screams of pain… I know the feeling. Lucky for me I wasn't injured to a point where that serum in my body would react. If being turned is anything like my way of healing… I shuddered at the thought of it. "Those poor women."

"But… Maria's not screaming… you think…" JP spoke up trying to be optimistic for both Maria's sake as well as Yoma's.

I nodded with JP's logic. God I hope he's right. I'd hate to have to kill her…

Zoe nodded numbly in agreement. She didn't want to see this happening either. She's lived through enough of it.

We remained quiet for a while, not that you could blame us. We just sat in our seats. JP fidgeted with the tools from the big bag in his lap. And Zoe, she's doing her best to help Maria through whatever pain she may be feeling.

I just sat there and looked out the window.

We're still somewhere out in the ocean at least from what I can tell. All I could see is endless ocean from out the window.

I suppose I should be grateful for one thing. While the situation was foreboding, there's at least a moment of peace. I can take comfort in that peace. There won't be any time to enjoy it as soon as we land.

'NICE TRY'. I'm never going to forget that. I can't afford to make a mistake. Just one slip up; one wrong move… and I'll end up like Edward. I'll end up like all the men from that town. I have to be well beyond the top of my game if I'm going to succeed.

"Attention everyone." That's Yoma's voice on the intercom. "We'll be arriving shortly. Please prepare for departure."

I can't help but clench my fists. The way she spoke… it was like she was doing her best to show no emotion. This thing had hurt her.

It hurt Maria.

It hurt countless innocent people.

And it hurt Zoe. I understood her now. I know how she feels. The way she cried when she told us what happened. The way her voice cracked under the dread. This was the way she was. This is what she's like behind her false calmness. She was terrified and hurt in so many ways.

I'm going to put a stop to it.

I will save her town.

I will make sure no more people die because of these abominations.

I will put an end to all this pain once and for all.

I'll make sure of it.

"I promise you Miss Orimoto…"

She looked up at me when I stood up from my seat.

"I will protect you and everyone you call family. No matter what."

I don't care how the winds are changing. I won't let them deter me from my goal. If these guys want a fight then I sure as hell will give it to them.

**Well, that's it for the new chapter. I hope it meets up to everyone's standards. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. This one took me about two to three days to write. I hope everyone will be patient with me.**

**That's it for now. Hopefully I'll see you all soon. Later.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone. I'm here with another chapter of "Wanderer" for you guys. I do plan to be a lot more fluent with my updates so these guys should be come up relatively fast. At least I hope so. You never know how long these chapters take to get finished. Only so much my little brain can come up with in a descent amount of time.**

**On another note, I decided to make this a longer chapter seeing how I'm actually writing up a storm at the moment. That and we're anticipating some action here. So there's a plus there.**

**At least it's not a three year hiatus like before. So, without further delay, here is Chapter 6. Camera's ready, set, action.**

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I quickly switched out my coat for a fresh one; one without any blood stains, rips, or missing sleeves. Also found a new sheath to strap to my forearm to replace the one I tore through. I know it's a little silly but I felt comfortable wearing fresh gear. It helps me feel ready for whatever was going to happen. Also doesn't help with Genai drilling into our heads to look professional.

JP seemed to have calmed down quite a bit and looked ready to disembark from the jet; his bag of goodies strapped across his chest. It was reassuring to see him finally get into the game.

As for Zoe; she seemed to be ready herself. It felt like, though, that she had mixed feelings about coming back to her home town; happiness to returning to a familiar place and dread to returning to the horrors it held. I just realized… I started addressing her by her first name instead of by Miss Orimoto. No idea where that came from. I guess after hearing her story I've sort of gotten to know her enough to relax and drop the formalities… I think. I dunno. I'm no good with this kind of stuff.

The plane was beginning to descend and we took our seats. I glanced out the window to get a better look of the island we were going to land on. It wasn't anything fancy. Half the island was covered in thick woods while the other half consisted of grasslands and the beach were we were intending to land. A range of mountains jutted out from the center of the island, almost like the nail of a tack. There were several settlements scattered across the grasslands where the mountains permitted, one in particular sticking out near the woods. It was much larger than the others probably due to the quantity of materials to their access such as the lumber and the minerals from the mountains.

The large town near the woods; that had to be the one Zoe came from. I'm more than positive about it. Looking at it, the woods seemed to offer quite a bit of cover for whatever lurked within them and with the town at such a close proximity, it provided an easy target for the dark.

Zoe had proven me right when she pointed at the settlement through the window. "That's it over there; the one by the woods. That's where I live. The others farther out don't suffer much from attacks but they're still in danger during the night."

"Takuya, dude, the mountains; look how tall they are." JP stated, pointing at how the mountains were obscuring the view of the setting sun.

The mountains were blocking the sunlight. That's why the town was so vulnerable. The mountains cut off any sunlight they could have gotten from the setting sun. Less light… more opportunities for the dark to attack.

Zoe gasped, quickly getting my attention. The look on her face told me that she just realized something…

We wouldn't make it in time for the next attack…!

The jet was still making it's descent but by the time we reach the beach, it would already be dark at the town and it would take a good while to travel to the village. The townsfolk would be at the mercy of these monsters…

I got up from my seat and made my way over to the cockpit.

"Takuya! What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be in your seat!" Yoma screamed at me when she noticed I was in the cockpit with her.

I ignored her stating the obvious and pointed towards the town. "I need you to fly us over to the village. We won't make it in time for the next attack!"

"There's no where we can land once we get there! How exactly to you plan to get down there to help?" She asked as if what I said was the stupidest thing she heard.

I bit my lip. Okay, so I didn't know how we could land but there had to be something; something that could get us down there to help… I snorted, not like we could jump.

Wait a minute…

"We still have those parachutes?" I asked.

Yoma looked at me. She was probably trying to figure out if I was joking or not. The look on my face gave her her answer and she just looked back at me in shock. "Oh my god you're serious… Takuya, are you out of your goddamn mind?! You don't even know how to use one!"

"What's to know? You jump, pull a cord, activate the parachute, and land. Easy peasy." I told her. Honestly, it didn't seem that hard a concept to grasp. "Look, we don't have a lot of time. Just fly us over there. Lives are at stake Yoma."

She bit her lip and looked back ahead at the controls. I waited for her to finally give in with a sigh. "Fine… but I swear to go if you screw up I am going to kill you."

Deciding not to push my luck any further I left the cockpit and made my way to the cargo bay to find the parachutes. The cargo bay didn't really have much room and was relatively empty so it was easy enough to find what I was looking for.

JP and Zoe looked at me, probably wondering what I was doing. JP's face went pale the instant I found the parachutes. "Oh no… no, no, no, no, NO. Takuya you can't be…"

I rolled my eyes at him. He was completely hysterical. "It's the only way we'll get there in time. There's not enough room nearby for us to land." I said in hopes that he would understand. This was necessary if we were going to prevent anymore casualties.

"But we don't even know how to use a parachute!"

"What is so hard about using a parachute? Seriously?! It's just pulling a cord!" I exclaimed in disbelief on how resistant everyone was to the idea.

JP stared at me with a dazed look on his face as I figured out how to strap myself into one of the parachutes. I double checked to make sure everything was secure; the chute, my gear, and anything else that might come loose.

"But… you'll be leaving yourself open." Zoe state, finally speaking up though I had wished she would be supporting my idea. "They'll rip you apart before you could even touch the ground."

I groaned but shook my head. "They won't be expecting me. And besides, the sun will still be out long enough to get us most of the way there. They probably won't be able to get at us before we land." I answered and looked out the window.

The mountains were just barely starting to block out the sun. There was enough time. I know for sure. Sure we might cut it close but it's better than being on the edge of the island wondering how the town must be doing under the attack. If we were going to do this we have to do it now.

I sighed and looked to them. "Look, you two don't have to do this. I'll go on my own while you guys find a good place to land." I could do this on my own. I was willing and ready. I won't force them to jump if they don't want to. "Just try to get here as fast as you can and be careful not to get caught by those things."

I looked out the window again and saw that we were close to our destination. Yoma took the time to get us a little closer to the ground. Thank god for her.

It took me a moment to realize that a pair of square aviator goggles was held out for me. I looked up to see Zoe was the one handing them to me.

"You'll need these so you can actually see out there." She said as I took them. She had on a pair herself and was suiting up in a parachute herself. I couldn't help but smile and slipped the goggles on securely over my eyes.

"So, you ever jump out from a moving plane a few thousand feet in the air?" I asked, a grin forming on my face as I took a crack at melting the tension. I dunno why but I guess I just wanted this dreadful tension in the air to just vanish. It's been driving me crazy ever since I got this job.

Zoe shook her head, a smile on her face as well. She was probably sick of the tension and dread as well and welcomed my attempt at humor. "Nope, but there's a first for everything. Looks like fun."

"God I hope so. Don't want to be pissing my pants on the way down. It's really unprofessional and just downright nasty." I replied with a short chuckle. I don't know if I was nervous or excited at this point. Hell, maybe I was feeling both right now. Wouldn't be the first time. "I wouldn't hear the end of it from Genai."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." She said when we finally got the green light to jump.

"When you make your jump wait ten seconds before deploying your parachutes." Yoma told us over the intercom.

Ten seconds of free falling. That's not so bad. I can do that. Yeah, I can do that no sweat.

With JP and Maria safely secure in the passenger area, the cargo bay ramp slowly opened. Zoe and I held tightly onto the harness on the walls to keep the pull of the air from taking us away immediately.

Was I ever grateful for these goggles; the wind pressure had been so strong I doubt I could have ever been able to open my eyes if it weren't for these things.

Okay. This is it. No chickening out now. I'm going to jump. On the count of… three? Yeah. Three is good.

One.

I leaned forward and prepared myself for a running start.

Two…

I let go of the harness ever so slightly. Moment of truth…

THREE

"SHIT!" I ran off the bay and jumped and instantly I feel the wind just blowing right through me! HOLY CRAP this is terrifying! Big mistake! Really big mistake!

Why the hell did it have to be so freaking high?! Okay… okay, just relax… relax. Remember to pull the chute… remember to pull the chute! Just a little longer!

I heard Zoe's screams. She actually jumped! I half expected her to chicken out when I screamed. Oh crap! I almost forgot!

I quickly pulled the cord and immediately felt the chute open itself up. Aw come on! Hurry up! Hurry up! The chute finally opened itself all the way and I felt the thing jerk hard around my body.

I swear, I never felt so relieved in all my life. Free falling like that… it got my blood pumping so fast I thought I was going to burst a vein or something. It was absolutely terrifying… I seriously have to do that again sometime.

Looking down at the ground I could see I was still really freaking high right now. Okay… I quickly looked up to find Zoe, deciding it was better than looking at the ground. She had deployed her parachute as well and was slowly descending with me. She looked like she was going to be sick… "You okay over there?!"

"Do I look like I'm okay?!" She snapped back. That was probably the fear talking there.

Okay, maybe talking to her while we were falling isn't such a good idea at the moment. I decided instead to watch the sun as it slowly began to descend behind the mountains. Not bad so far. There was still plenty of light. We should be safe. At least I hope so. Even if those things are able to fly, they'd have to try and keep those coats secure or they'd be exposed to the light. My hood was easily blown back off of my head and fluttered with the wind.

Everything seemed calm for the moment as we drew closer to the ground. I could see the people gathering around in the town square looking up at us. They probably weren't expecting us to drop out of the sky like this.

"Hey everyone! We're back!" Zoe called out and waved her hand at the townsfolk who proceeded to cheer and call out to their friend.

Okay, now for the hard part. Landing. Let's see… um… how to do that. I tried angling myself so that when I was close enough I could run and slow down without losing too much momentum to be unstable.

Easy now… just a little more and… TOUCH DOWN. I did it! I freaking did it!

My parachute dropped to the floor behind me as I stopped running. I was panting like mad trying to get myself to calm down. The adrenalin rush was really not helping me here at the moment.

"Zoe! You made it! Thank god!"

The voice was masculine. Probably one of her guy friends. I turned to get a good look at the people gathered around Zoe. They seemed like normal folk though two of them stood out from the others.

These two were closest to Zoe. They both had black hair; one long and held back in a ponytail and under a bandanna and the other short and shaggy. They both had the exact same face with deep blue eyes as well though the one with the ponytail seemed to be a lot more serious.

Only just now did I realize they were probably twins.

Zoe looked over to me and led the twins over to me. She probably wanted to introduce me.

"Guys. This is Takuya Kanbara. He's one of the HAND agents Mr. Genai sent to help us." Zoe explained pleasantly as the two examined me.

The serious looking one seemed to be sizing me up. He didn't seem impressed. That made my blood boil. This guy obviously doesn't know a capable warrior when he sees one. What's more, the look on his face practically screamed that he didn't expect much from me.

Immediately, I don't like him.

The other one seemed to be friendlier. He looked like he was happy to see me. Now, this is the kind of reception one expects to see from the people they're trying to help.

"How good is he?" Ponytail asked point blank. The guy really didn't waste time getting to business.

"He's their best agent." Zoe answered. The tone in her voice told me she was irritable. "Don't be rude got it? They were kind enough to send their best to come and help us. The least you can do is show a little gratitude."

Ponytail shrugged and folded his arms. "We'll see when we see him in a fight. I'm not getting my hopes up on some stranger I've never seen before."

Ooooh, this guy is SO asking for it. I can't wait to prove him wrong.

"Thank you for coming to our aid Mr. Kanbara." The friendlier one spoke up with a smile on his face. "I'm Kouichi Kimura and this is my brother Kouji Minamoto."

Kouji Minamoto huh? I like Ponytail better. At least until he quit with the attitude. I shook Kouichi's hand and smiled. "I promise to do what I can. You can count on me to deal with these things." The look on Kouichi's face was a mixture of relief and gratitude. Ponytail however just scoffed at my promise. Dick.

"Well then, Mr. Kanbara." He said practically mocking me with every word. "It's going to be dark in a few minutes. Let's see what you can do." He then turned to the crowd who came to see us. "Alright everyone! Go back to your houses and down into your cellars! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

I watched as everyone scrambled back into their brick and stone houses. In a mere matter of minutes the streets were completely baron save for myself and a few others. Zoe and her friends were among those who stayed out here in the streets.

Zoe had removed the pistol from her inner jacket and loaded it before waiting. I had noticed that the twins had weapons of their own; Ponytail using a traditional Japanese katana and his brother using a type of pole arms and with a small shield strapped to his arm. These people seemed pretty prepared for combat. Makes me wonder what the difference one or two agents wound make.

I suppose someone has to be brave enough to venture into the woods to find the root of this evil… or incredibly stupid. And HAND will do just about anything to destroy the dark.

I looked up at the mountains and watched as the last remnants of light fade away, covering the whole town in shadows.

Something's coming.

I drew the sword on my back and waited. Listening. There was… an inhuman shriek that echoed throughout the town. God… it just made my blood cold but I shook it off and jogged deeper into town where the sound came from. I ran towards the part of town closest to the woods.

Gunfire.

They're already here. I ran as fast as I could, running several blocks until I came to a halt. I had found my target.

There were two of them; each wearing a black cloak with their hoods covering most of their faces. They had just walked in; didn't even mother to sneak or fly into town. It was like a casual stroll to them.

I pulled my hood over my head, shrouding my face; a habit I formed to intimidate my enemies. I tightened my grip on my sword and slowly made my way towards the two, watching them closely. I wouldn't make the same mistakes I made before. I'm the hunter here, not them.

"Oh look, another one in a black coat." One spoke to the other, and started to laugh. They weren't taking me seriously.

Big mistake.

We drew closer to each other and their laughter grew silent and was replaced with faint growling. If it were any other person, they would be pissing themselves in fear at the sight of these two abominations but I knew better than to be afraid. I'm not going to freeze up again.

They walked to either side of me, looking for an opportunity to strike. I waited patiently, keeping my guard up and my sword poised to strike at any moment. We were waiting for the opportune moment; one of us would slip.

The one on my left moved. I quickly rolled away as she lunged at me. The second one jumped at me when I landed but I swung my sword around right at her.

The blade bit into her arm and she wailed, landing a few feet away from me. Blood was seeping from her sleeve to the floor. The wound was shallow. Not a clean cut. I need to do better.

Suddenly, I felt something slice against my arm; slashing through my sleeve and drawing blood. I quickly spun away from the attacker and turned to see the first one had attacked me… but not with claws… no… it was a blade… a blade formed from her hand.

…that's just… impossible. She lunged right at me, slicing a think cut across my chest. I pulled away at the last minute, the blade cutting into the belts across my chest. She just continued to slash before I finally blocked with my sword.

The silver alloy must have had some effect because my blade chipped away at the blood red sword that was her hand.

Suddenly, I crashed hard against the side of a building. I feel so much pain from my back… something struck me from behind… no doubt it was the other on. I looked at her and saw that her arm had mutated as well… only this time with a hammer with red spikes… this… this is ridiculous. Zoe never mentioned this before.

The one with the sword arm charged right at me. I quickly moved myself out of the way before the blade could pierce through my head.

Since I had lost my sword when I was knocked into the wall, I decided to punch the beast right in her face, sending its head reeling back with a loud, sickening crack. For added measure, I elbowed into her sword arm that was still stuck in the wall before rolling away from her. I know I had to have broken her arm.

She writhed in pain before managing to pull her arm out of the wall, her arm bent in an impossible way. She wailed and snapped her arm back into place…

I heard a shriek of rage and turned to see the spiked hammer come down on me. I dodged as swiftly as I could, the spikes grazing against my coat as she swung her hammer manically at me.

Quickly, I grabbed my gun from its holster. I needed a good shot here.

She saw my intentions and swung her hammer horizontally, making it hard to aim for her heart.

I dodged to my left and aimed at her exposed shoulder. Two pops were heard and the beast shrieked as the bullets lodged themselves in her shoulder.

My momentary victory was short lived when the one with the blade took her chance to slice deep into my hand. I pulled away and cradled my hand… pain searing through my arm as it bled freely.

Her assault didn't stop there as she started to slice wildly at me. Another pop and the beast went flying backwards from recoil, blood shooting from her temple.

"Are you okay?!"

That was Zoe! They must have come to help! I turned to see the twins rushing into the fray, taking on the one with the hammer hand. That left me with the one with the blade hand.

Speaking of which, my enemy got back to her feet, a deep snarl forming on her face. The shot to the face had pulled her hood back revealing her face. She looked just like the one from before though her hair had more blond. Not that it mattered. She was a monster now. A monster I had to slay.

She lunged at me but I was prepared for her now. As her blade was poised to stab I turned and managed to get behind her. Quickly I embedded one of the black blades at my hip into her shoulder all the way down to the hilt.

The former human screamed out in agony which only grew louder when I tore my blade free. She turned and swung at me but I managed to catch her blade through the slit of my short blade. She tried to wretch it free but I kept my grip firm and twisted it so it would be awkward and difficult to remove.

With only my left arm to fight, my right being injured to a point it was useless, it was difficult to keep a firm hold on her. I just… needed that extra boost.

My opportunity came when a bullet pierced through her elbow. Thank god for Zoe. I swear, she's saving my butt left and right. I took the opportunity to snap her blade in half and used the momentum to pierce into her heart.

The girl gasped...

I panted… adrenalin rushing through my veins as I pressed the blade deeper into her chest. She stared at me with her blood red eyes. Staring at them…

I felt a fire burning in my blood… I gritted my teeth… the pain excruciating. I closed my eyes and twisted the blade before pulling it free from her chest.

I heard a sickening thud and opened my eyes. The beast was laying face down, blood pooling around her. I did it… I killed her.

The other shrieked, having disengaged its battle with Ponytail and retreating. It fled deep into the woods. The first attack was over. We clamed victory… for the moment. Who knows when the next attack would occur… and with my arm wounded the way it is… I hope my wounds would heal before then.

A flash of yellow and I know Zoe made her way to my side. I flashed her a grateful smile before looking down at my hand. I removed the glove and saw the deep gash in my wrist… it's going to be a bitch to heal.

"Oh my god… that looks really bad…" she muttered after getting a good look at my hand.

I pulled my hand away. "Don't worry about it. I'll be okay." I said with a sigh. "I'm a fast healer." Really fast… and painful.

Ponytail walked over to us and looked me over again. He was probably determining if I was really worth it. "You're going to have to do better than that if you're going to be of any help."

I growled and stood up. I did not need him giving me crap about the fight. I was about to retort with something vulgar but he interrupted me.

"But… you weren't that bad. Especially after that thing with their hands. They haven't done that before." He added with a serious look on his face as he finished his thought. "…Come on Kouichi. We need to figure this out."

I just watched them as they left. Ponytail was giving me props, right? I couldn't really tell. That guy was just way too weird for me to figure out.

The twins walked away, probably heading to the house where they lived. Zoe was the one who stayed behind. She looked at me with a small smile. "You're welcome to stay with us while you're here. You're friend too when he gets here."

I couldn't help but smile a little myself. I appreciated her kind gesture. She was something else entirely. She saved my butt twice now. Not to mention she was pleasant to be around. I could handle Ponytail as long as she was around. "Thanks. I appreciate it. Some rest will really do me some good."

Zoe's smile widened a little and she lead the way to where the twins were staying. As we walked I couldn't help but look back into the woods one last time. I had killed one but… it didn't feel like much of a victory anymore. If these weapon hands of theirs is new… then what other surprises do they have in store for us?

I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. What other surprises are in stored for us?

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**And there you have it folks. My longest chapter ever. I hope this pleases everyone. I did my best here. I hope you guys like it. And don't worry. The twin's appearance may have been really brief here but you will get to know them as the story progresses. Till then. Later.**


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